WAHINE BASKETBALL PLAYBOOK
vs. Rice Owls
Coaches: Hawaii, Vince Goo, 13th season (251-112, .691); Rice, Christy McKinney, 9th season (129-109, .542).
Season records: Hawaii (2-1 WAC, 10-5 overall); Rice (0-1 WAC, 8-5 overall).
Series record: Hawaii's leads the series, 2-1. In the last meeting, Feb. 22, 1998, the Owls ended a 19-game Wahine winning streak with a 76-71 home victory.
Top players: Rice, senior guard Marla Brumfield (13.5 points a game, 57 assists), senior forward Kirra Johnson (12.8 ppg, 7.5 rebounds a game), senior guard Jenny Cafferty (7.8 ppg, makes 41 percent (26-of-62) of her 3-point attempts), senior forward Kim Smallwood (6.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg) ... Hawaii, senior guard Raylene Howard (17.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg); junior forward Kylie Galloway (14.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg); senior guard Kyla Evers (10.3 ppg, 3.9 apg, 2.3 steals a game), junior center Dainora Puida (9.3 ppg, 6.2 rpg); senior forward Hedy Liu (6.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg).
Interesting facts: This is the Owls third consecutive road game. They lost the previous two, including a 59-58 defeat last Saturday at Tulsa after leading by seven points with 2:40 to play. Rice is coming off consecutive 20-win seasons for the first time in school history ... UH point guard Kyla Evers, who sprained her left ankle in practice last Friday and sat out the Texas Christian game Saturday, is ready to play again. Wahine top scorer Raylene Howard also will play, but her neck is still sore.after she was sent flying into the leg of the scorers table in the Southern Methodist game.
Game keys: UH head coach Vince Goo said, "Last last week and this week are the pivotal weeks for us in the conference. How we do this week against Rice and Tulsa will determine where we are in the conference race." ... The Owls are a veteran team loaded with players who are very athletic, quick and fast. foot. Coach McKinney employs full-court pressure, something Hawaii is seeing on a regular basis ... The Wahine will have to be generous with helping teammates on defense to counter the Owls quickness, whether in a zone or man-to man ... Rice will have two days of practice here, so the travel should not be a factor ... The Owls are the top defensive team in the WAC, surrendering 58.1 points a game. It will be a challenge for the Wahine to hit their average output (69.7 points per game).
Tipoff: Tomorrow, 7:05 p.m., Stan Sheriff Center.
Tickets: $6 adults, $5 senior citizens, $4 students 4-18 and UH students with valid ID. Available at the Stan Sheriff Center, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and by telephone, 944-2697 ($1 fee assessed per ticket). Only Mastercard and Visa accepted. The box office remains open for weekday games and opens two hours prior to Saturday games. $3 parking charge.
On the air: None.
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By Al Chase, Star-Bulletin
